Rochester Knighthawks cement dynasty status

Rochester goalie Matt Vinc celebrates at the buzzer of the NLL Championship played at the Blue Cross Arena on Saturday, May 31, 2014. The Rochester Knighthawks claimed their third straight championship beating the Calgary Roughnecks 16-10 in Game 2 and 3-2 in the deciding mini-game. (Photo: ADRIAN KRAUS)

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Curt Malawsky couldn't help but reminisce about the old days when he returned to Rochester this past weekend for the conclusion of the National Lacrosse League Champions Cup Series.

"I'll be honest with you — it was a little bit eerie and a little back to reminiscing of the old days, seeing the old hotel and the rooms and up in the elevators," Malawsky told the Calgary Sun upon arriving Friday. "It's kind of where it all started for me, and it's a special place, and Rochester has a special place in my heart. But I'll reiterate, it's about the boys — and we're here to do a job."

His boys, the Calgary Roughnecks, made things interesting at raucous Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, but it was''t quite good enough to dethrone the now three-time NLL champion Rochester Knighthawks.

Calgary lost 16-10 in Game 2 which necessitated the playing of the nerve-wracking 10-minute mini-game, and after jumping to a 2-0 lead, the Roughnecks fell apart in the closing minutes and were overwhelmed by a three-goal rally in the final 2:14 by the championship-pedigree Knighthawks.

"Is it a missed opportunity? Absolutely," Malawsky said afterward as the Knighthawks celebrated history on the floor of the arena. "Do we feel that we blew it? No. We got beat by a better team. That's just the way it was, and I'm proud of the way our guys competed."

The Knighthawks were a powerhouse when Malawsky was filling the net for them in the late 1990s and early 2000s; he still stands eighth on the all-time goal list and 10th in points playing on teams that went a cumulative 57-25 in the regular season. But those magnificent teams never won a championship, losing three times in the finals to Toronto while Malawsky was here.

This Knighthawks team is different; it is truly special. Their legion of passionate fans have long known this, but when you win three consecutive championships — the first team in NLL history to do so — the entire lacrosse world has to stand up and take notice.

The first title in this magical run came in 2012 when the team struggled through a 7-9 regular season, tied for the worst mark in team history, but then caught a wave at the right time and rode it home to a final victory at the BCA over Edmonton.

In 2013, there was another mundane 8-8 regular season, but the Knighthawks again turned it up in the postseason and traveled out to British Columbia where they edged Washington 11-10 to defend the championship.

This year was different in that the Knighthawks rolled through the regular season with a 14-4 record, but nothing changed in the playoffs. They eliminated Buffalo in the mini-game, and did the same to Calgary.

"We've been working hard at it all year and it's just amazing how the guys took to each other," said team owner Curt Styres, who also serves as the general manager. "With our scouting staff and coaches, every one of the players was hand-picked for their personality on the floor and off the floor."

And that's the key, coach Mike Hasen believes, to the success the Knighthawks have enjoyed.

"It's what Curt looks for," Hasen said. "It's about the quality of the person more than the player, and it's a great team. I couldn't ask for anything more."

The NLL is about as evenly balanced as a professional sports league can be as the vast majority of games are of the nail-biter variety. The small things matter. The Knighthawks have some very nice big things such as superstar players like Cody Jamieson, Dan Dawson and Matt Vinc, but they have small things in abundance, and that's what makes the difference.

"Down 2-0 in the mini-game with five minutes left, the odds are against you," said Irondequoit's Joe Walters, who scored the tying goal in the mini-game with 1:23 left to play, and assisted on both of Craig Point's goals that ultimately decided matters.

"But that just shows you the heart and the character of this team — never give up, keep clawing back, and that's what we've been about all year. We know what we have in this locker room and I'm just so proud of this team, it's unbelievable. It starts with Curt Styres all the way down."

As his team celebrated all around him with family and friends who were allowed onto the floor, the stoic-as-they-come Styres couldn't help but smile. He even admitted to being a little nervous at the end when his team was in a hole in the mini-game that most teams would not have been able to climb out of.

"If I took my shirt off it'd probably be wringing wet," he said. "We just try to put ourself in position to compete and be a competitor and that's all we can do from year to year and the guys just want more and more."